Tomiichi Murayama

Tomiichi Murayama (3 March 1924-) was Prime Minister of Japan from 30 June 1994 to 11 January 1996, succeeding Tsutomu Hata and preceding Ryutaro Hashimoto. He was the head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan, and he famously apologized for Japan's war crimes during World War II on the 50th anniversary of the war's end in 1995.

Biography
Tomiichi Murayama was born in Oita, Oita Prefecture, Japan in 1924, and he was mobilized in 1944 during World War II, serving at the shipyards before serving in the Imperial Japanese Army. After the war, he became secretary of the labor union in his company, and he entered the Japan Socialist Party. In 1955, he was elected to the Oita city council, later being elected thrice to the provincial assembly after 1963. In 1972, he was elected to the House of Representatives, and he became head of his party in 1994. That same year, he became Prime Minister at the head of a coalition of the JSP, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, and the New Party Sakigake. His leadership was not strong due to the coalition's weakness, and he did not resist the Security Pact with the United States due to its location in the Constitution of Japan, angering many of his supporters. He was also criticized for not dealing quickly with the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Murayama had some successes, however, as he carried out reforms in labor rights, elderly care, child support, and assistance for people with disabilities. In 1995, he made gun possession a more serious offense. After his party lost seats in the House of Councillors in 1995, he resigned, and he was succeeded by Ryutaro Hashimoto.